Public forum set for trash incinerator

October 05, 2003 11:00 pm

By Kent Gray

Triplicate staff writer

A company interested in building a waste-to-energy power plant in Del Norte County is asking the public to attend a meeting next week.

Jody Allione of Barlow Projects, Inc. said the meeting, which will be held at the Washington Boulevard fire station at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, is intended to provide more information to the community.

"We'll be walking through the concept of waste-to-energy and giving a general overview about the project," Allione said yesterday. "This is an opportunity for people who haven't been familiarized with the subject yet to learn more about it."

With the pending closure of Del Norte County's landfill, the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority has been working on a plan to dispose of local garbage. The plan has been to build a transfer station to sort the refuse and ship unusable trash to a landfill in Oregon.

The idea of a local waste-to-energy plant first surfaced in early 2002. Proponents claim such a power plant would save money for ratepayers by burning the garbage locally and converting the energy into electricity.

So far, the Solid Waste Authority has neither supported nor rejected the idea of a waste-to-energy plant. However, recent discussions about building the power plant have shown some finanicial incompatibility for having both a waste-to-energy facility and a transfer station in the region.

Crescent City City Councilmember Herb Kolodner, who has hosted workshops in the community to study the idea, said yesterday the meeting next week is a chance for Barlow to speak to the public directly.

"This is a Barlow operation," said Kolodner, who added his participation is limited to introducing company representatives to the public. "This is their meeting so they can make their points and answer all the questions put to them."

Allione said public inquiry will be invited during the meeting.

"We want to get the concerns of the public, which is always important. This is also a chance for them to ask us questions," she said.